Chapter 8 - Suspicious (part 2)

Jodye was still speechless as he ruminated over the wonders he had witnessed. When would he be so strong? Flying and casting magic spells or standing on magic circles in the air! These people could fly and perform secret arts, wow! Being young was hard, and he wanted to get older!

When the Wind Spirit Wolf reached the perimeter of the Anubis statues in front of the lord's manor, it actually stopped and dipped into a bow, before proceeding forward. Jodye was flabbergasted.

"Mother," Jodye Trill lifted his head to look up at the gorgeous woman with mesmerizing eyes seated behind him. She smiled at him gently, making him feel warm all over.

"Mn." Lady Isis replied, slightly lost in her own thoughts.

"Why do the spirit wolves bow before the statue?" asked Jodye Trill.

"Hmm?" Lady Isis was caught off guard for a moment before collecting herself and responding, "This is to honor your father, whom they love and respect deeply."

"The wolves, you mean. The wolves love dad?" asked Jodye Trill.

"Mn, that's right. Your father has sworn allegiance to the Pharaoh Anubis, and the statues all have a trace of his noble force inside. The house lord Osiris Trilleck, your father, has a very high level of natural talent. He achieved the Gold Mage Rank at the age of 25 and became a legendary figure in the entire dynasty.

"He is the most talented young Sage in the past 100 years of the Anubis Dynasty's history. Spirit Wolves treat your father as a deity. Demon Jackals also show your father respect. Joseph, the bloodline of us, your parents, is exceptional. As is yours, it seems. You are the second child of the Lord whom the spirit wolves admire. Milly was the first."

Little Jodye was silent as he stared ahead. His gaze was steady and determined. Lady Isis sighed once more and used her abilities to quickly twist her son's hair, making him look fresh and refined. Synergy swiftly arrived in front of the Lord's manor and let the pair of mother and son down from its back. Jodye Trill felt a little suspicious about the fruit thing from before. Merely, he remained confident that, regardless of whatever his mother had planned, Isis Trilleck definitely wouldn't have let him come to harm.

Their connection was no front, after all. Plus Jodye Trill was now aware of another fact; his mother was strong. At a minimum, she was far stronger than the young nobles Edward and Kold Rondo. Those experts never even noticed her presence! It was as if his mother and himself didn't even exist.

Besides, Jodye knew enough about fake love to recognize it with ease.

Still, he wondered what all that fruity business was about. As they walked through the lord's manor, Jodye noticed his mother had returned to her usual celestial bearing. The face she put on in her public capacity was, of course, different from when they were alone. Every clan member or servant they passed hurried to greet the pair respectfully. As such, Jodye did the same.

"Long live the day, first lady Isis. Today you look more lovely than ever."

"My Lady Isis, thank you for healing my son!"

"Third young master, are you well?"

"This lowly one greets the first lady and third young master."

Lady Isis nodded indifferently at all the people who came in greeting, as she walked forward at a moderately slow pace so that her son's small legs could keep up with her. She would, honestly, rather just carry the child. Unfortunately, she knew from experience that the stubborn little boy at her heels would be utterly unsatisfied with such an outcome.

Jodye Trill walked with regal flair, his back upright, and his gaze straight ahead. He looked like a young noble. Isis Trilleck was impressed with her son's bearing, as she noticed that Jodye didn't bat an eye at any of the flattery they had received, nor did he comment on it at all. It's as if the people from before were all just empty air! Who did this kid think he was?

Lady Isis was feeling a mixture of proud and annoyed. People would surely think she had taught him to behave like this. Of course, she also knew he did have that right and had intended to train him to act like this! He was the young lord of the House, after all. They were people of status. Isis, who was once poor and weak, would definitely milk this with her child. Merely, she never got a chance to slowly show him these ways, because the child had apparently been born so refined!

Jodye Trill did nothing but ask his mother questions about the various things he had laid his eyes on. After a while, the pair of mother and son reached a large manor's main chamber. Standing before the chamber doors was none other than the estates enigmatic head butler, Ke Si. Lady Isis and her son stopped in front of Ke Si.

"What is this? Why do you block my path, Ke Si?" Lady Isis asked with narrowed eyes.

"My lady, I'm sorry. The council would like to see the third young master alone." Said Ke Si without opening his eyes.

Jodye Trill subconsciously took a step closer to his mother, whose body responded instinctively as she lifted him into her arms.

Lady Isis Trilleck's sapphire eyes begin to glow beautifully with golden light as her gaze turned chilly and she calmly replied, "I am the First Lady of House Trilleck, Isis Trilleck, the wife of your master. Do you know what that means, head butler? I. Am. Your. Mas. Ter." With every pause Isis Trilleck took a step, leaving pink and purple ice crystals in her wake.

"You have no right to obstruct me, head butler Ke Si. Scram the fuck out of our way for me." As Lady Isis' words finished, she wrapped her son in her spirit power as a chilling, multicolor, and powerful serene aura suddenly erupted from her and sent Ke Si tumbling through the chamber doors.

The force was chilling to the bone, and gave the feeling of extreme stillness, like an ancient mountain. Jodye Trill was able to instantly recognize that this was serenity force! The very thing he had been struggling to gain some insight into. His eyes flashed with the light of understanding! Eureka! Perhaps he should find a way to ask for his mother's help? Jodye had continuously been struggling with how much intelligence he should be revealing. As a former spy, he knew that information was power. He had to keep his cards hidden.

His own matters aside, Jodye was nonetheless impressed with his mother's sudden, and domineering change in personality. He had never imagined she had this side to her too. This world only grew more intriguing. No wonder she was able to fight her way up to the first wife position. She was actually this fierce! Jodye figured she was at least as imposing as the five old coots that follow his father around.

Those guys were intimidating! I mean heck, their eyes glowed. How wild was that? After landing slightly miserably in the main chamber, Ke Si's eyes opened wide in shock, as he was similarly shocked by the First Lady's current behavior and strength. Lady Isis slowly sashayed through the doors, with little Jodye Trill on her hip, without reducing her ice-cold aura in the slightest as she stepped past Ke Si, who instantly turned into a purple and blue block of ice.

'Poor Ke Si,' thought Jodye Trill. Even though the butler had attempted to separate them, Jodye Trill didn't have a bad impression of this now-frozen affairs manager. Seated at the oval war table in the center of the chamber were 12 imposing-looking elders. Directly across from the mother-son duo, at the head seat of the war table, was the House Lord, Osiris Trilleck. Only, the typically pleasant, smiling face Jodye Trill had grown accustomed too was currently grim and emotionless, his black eyes glowing with a harsh grey light. This slowly chilled Jodye's heart, as he turned vigilant.

'It seems...Something is amiss here.'

Sage Houses are governed by democracy. In a Sage House, decisions of the estate are made by the Executive Council of Elders or the executive board for short. The House Trilleck Executive Board is made up of twelve elders that serve as the representatives of their individual factions. The elders of the Executive Council of Elders were always known as Seated Elders. Each of the House's six major wings had two seats and thus two Seated Elders per faction.

House Trilleck's six major wings were the Fangs, Black, Myriad Rune, Slaughter, Firestorm, and Windstorm factions. Each faction had many noble and humble elders.

To become an elder in House Trilleck, one's cultivation base had to reach either the Heaven's Master Saint Realm of the saint path or the Void Door Sage Realm of the Sage path. However, to become an Honored Elder one had to advance one sub realm further than this. Only Honored Elders were qualified to be Seated Elders.

The opinion of each seat represented one vote to cast in all the significant decisions of the House. The representatives were elected from within their own factions. Whereas, the House Lord possessed two votes on his own, the Seated Elders from his own camp, as well as the right to veto. No one but the Grand Elders could go against the House Lord's veto. However, it required a minimum of two of the three Grand Elders to be in agreement for the veto to be overruled.

There were a total of twelve elders positioned around the oval-shaped war table, apart from the House Lord himself who was seated directly across from where Jodye Trill and his mother currently stood. To his immediate left and right were the members of the Five Element Wolf Pack. The Five Element Wolf Pack was known as the Honored Pack, and its members were Guardians, the noble honored elders with the highest position outside of the House Lord and the three Grand Elders. Each of whom possesses their own title.

While the others didn't notice the slight change in little Jodye's eyes when they landed on his father, it did not go unnoticed by Osiris Trilleck himself, who raised a brow. He placed his full attention on Jodye Trill. Some of the elders felt Jodye had been possessed by his combat soul, or in other words, was maintained by a Fallen Body. They thought he would bring a calamity to the House!

The House lord knew that this fuss was started by his foster brother, Monte Trilleck, who had joined their father's Windstorm faction and became the representative. However, it was also not so crazy as a theory. The threat was entirely possible! Many strange circumstances were surrounding his son. However, Osiris was genuinely fond of the little guy. Thus, House Lord Trilleck decided that the boy's next actions would determine his stance in this matter. In fact, Jodye Trill was indeed a fallen body, but not even he understood this, for he had never even heard this term.

"Your lady greets you, my Lord. Greetings to you as well, honored pack brothers," Lady Isis' eyes were flirtatious as she greeted Lord Osiris properly, then turned and saluted the five elders closest to him with a smile and curtsy, as she retracted her aura. She then focused her sight back on the lord, completely disregarding the other elders. Seeing this, Lord Osiris felt a headache coming on.

"My lady, please thaw out my affairs manager," sighed Lord Osiris.